Redskins Rally, Exhale, Then Hold Their Breath

Robert Griffin III left with a knee injury. The backup Kirk Cousins led Washington past Baltimore.Credit
Gary Cameron/Reuters

LANDOVER, Md. — Robert Griffin III walked slowly, haltingly down the Washington Redskins’ sideline, clapping his hands and glancing at the celebration happening on the field a few yards away without him. In that moment, the Redskins’ craziest dream and worst nightmare unfolded as one, a thrilling 31-28 overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens keeping the Redskins alive for a playoff spot while the player who has made them competitive and compelling again hobbled away on a sprained right knee.

Griffin had embraced his backup, the rookie Kirk Cousins, who took over during the game-tying drive after Griffin realized he could not play any longer, his right leg having bent awkwardly and painfully as he went down after a 13-yard run. But Griffin had watched Cousins’s touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon, and then Cousins’s improbable quarterback draw for a 2-point conversion that tied the score at 28-28 with 29 seconds left in regulation, while perched on a table with doctors poking his right leg and asking if it hurt.

A 64-yard punt return in overtime set up Kai Forbath’s winning 34-yard field goal, which moved the Redskins to 7-6. They are tied with the Dallas Cowboys, one game behind the Giants, with three games remaining. But how much more they can hope for — against Cleveland next week, and the rest of the season — will depend largely on Griffin’s health. After he was first hurt, he missed one play before returning for four plays — completing two of four passes. But by then, Griffin said he could not move, and he knew he had to leave the game. But if there was positive news to be gleaned, it came from Griffin, who grimaced slightly when he climbed a riser for a postgame interview.

“I’m not a doctor, but I know what an A.C.L. feels like, and it doesn’t feel like an A.C.L.,” said Griffin, who had sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in college. “I knew as soon as I got hurt. I screamed. Like a man, of course. It hurt really bad.”

That was a hopeful sign for the throngs of fans who roared as Griffin ran, then groaned when they realized he was hurt, then went silent when he left the field.

Photo

Kirk Cousins, replacing Robert Griffin III, scored on a 2-point conversion to force overtime as the Redskins beat the Ravens.Credit
Rob Carr/Getty Images

Cousins mounted the Redskins’ comeback drive, and that seemed fitting for a season that a month ago seemed all but over. Coach Mike Shanahan had sounded as if he were about to give up after a loss sent the Redskins to 3-6, when he spoke about seeing how his young players would perform the rest of the way. The Redskins have not lost since, reeling off four victories.

Griffin’s injury, though, underscores the risk that comes with the considerable rewards of drafting him. He is a superlative talent, and even though the Ravens largely contained him — he completed only 15 passes for 246 yards, and his longest run was the 13-yarder — he is able to make plays when the Redskins need him most, and he draws so much attention that other players, like running back Alfred Morris (23 rushes for 122 yards), are freed up. But because he does not stay in the pocket — indeed, he is so devastating precisely because of his skill and speed on the run — he is exposed to more hits. During the run on which he was hurt, Griffin first turned outside, then went inside. His leg was hit as he went down.

“It all happened so fast,” Cousins said. “He’s taken a lot of those hits before, and I wasn’t sure if he needed to come out.”

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That the Redskins were even in position for a comeback was surprising. The Ravens had not lost two consecutive regular-season games since early in the 2009 season, and on Sunday, with losses by the Steelers and the Bengals, they could have clinched the A.F.C. North.

Even without linebackers Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis, the defense had largely held off the Redskins, allowing only two field goals after two turnovers by Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in the third quarter. Then, when Ray Rice ran 7 yards for a touchdown — and it appeared that the Redskins fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Ravens had recovered — a few Redskins fans turned and headed for the exits. But a replay review showed that the Ravens did not have possession of the ball before it went out of bounds.

The ball belonged to the Redskins — and to Griffin and Cousins, who have together learned a Washington offense that suits both players’ skills. Cousins described his touchdown pass to Garcon, in which he rolled to his right, pump-faked and took a little hop before rifling the ball to the back corner of the end zone, as “doing my best RGIII.”

The Redskins, of course, would much prefer to have the real thing for an improbable stretch run that has captivated their fans and already made Griffin such a star that LeBron James stopped to shake his hand at a Washington Wizards game last week.

“I’m not too nervous,” Griffin said of his injury.

And Washington is hoping he is again correct.

A version of this article appears in print on December 10, 2012, on Page D3 of the New York edition with the headline: Redskins Win, Exhale, Then Hold Breath. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe